House of David tales more fiction than fact

You can stop looking for that buried treasure at the House of David. It doesn't exist.

So says Ron Taylor, trustee of Mary's City of David just up the road from what remains of the House of David religious colony that was founded by Benjamin and Mary Purnell in 1903. As one of just two remaining members of the City of David -- the House of David has three or four, Taylor said -- he should know.

Taylor and Clare Adkin, author of "Brother Benjamin: A History of the Israelite House of David," will dispel some of the myths surrounding the cult in a program titled "What You've Heard About the House of David Ain't Necessarily So" at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on the City of David grounds. Seating is limited to 60 and costs $5.

It's amazing, the 61-year-old Taylor said Thursday, how myths about the House of David persist. Perhaps the reason the one concerning buried treasure has endured is there's some basis in fact, he said, pointing out there was a relatively large sum of money Benjamin Purnell received from members of the commune that he used for colony projects.

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"Used" is the key word, as that's why there's no such "treasure," Taylor said.

Another myth, he said, is that Purnell hid in tunnels linking the colony's elaborate buildings. It also wasn't true that he and Mary were run out of Fostoria, Ohio, shortly

Lou Mumford

Mum's the Word

Lou Mumford is a Tribune columnist.

before their arrival in Benton Harbor, Taylor said.

Taylor agreed, though, that the couple weren't held in high regard in some Fostoria circles based on their decision to forgo the funeral of their 16-year-old daughter, Hettie, who perished in an explosion that destroyed a Fostoria fireworks factory.

"Nazarite tradition forbids you from having anything to do with the dead," Taylor explained. "Beards and long hair (such as Benjamin's) also were marks of a Nazarite."

Another myth has it that the Purnells settled in Benton Harbor because Benjamin spotted the town on a map and proclaimed, "God was bent on harboring His people (here)." In truth, Taylor said, Benton Harbor was selected based on a divine communication Mary Purnell said she had received.

At any rate, the colony prospered, swelling to 1,000 members in 13 years and developing such enterprises as an amusement park and talented traveling baseball teams. Taylor said those teams, as well as a basketball team, went a long way toward eliminating distrust of the long-haired religious sect.

As for a widely watched civil trial in which Benjamin was accused of fraud and sexually molesting the offspring of sect members -- the cult practiced celibacy but some couples who joined had already had children -- Taylor argued he technically wasn't found guilty as the state Supreme Court, acting on an appeal, overturned the decision against him. Taylor labeled the case a "money grab" initiated by a disgruntled family that earlier had obtained a $24,000 judgment against Benjamin.

Benjamin perhaps would have faced trial for rape in the aftermath of the civil suit but he died of diabetes and tuberculosis just 11 days after the suit's conclusion. After his death, the sect split, with more than 200 following Mary Purnell to Mary's City of David.

Today, Benjamin lies in state in a glass-covered coffin in the House of David's Diamond House and Mary Purnell is entombed in a City of David mausoleum. It's true, Taylor said, that members of the sects, because they believe in physical salvation of the chosen, expect both to rise again.

House of David facts[square]ºAfter House of David pitcher Percy Walker struck out Babe Ruth in an exhibition game, Ruth presented Walker with his bat.[square]ºThe House of David's Eden Springs Amusement Park, opened in 1908, was the forerunner of such parks as Disneyland. Walt Disney bought a miniature steam engine from the House of David in 1950 for $100.[square]ºSugar cones were first sold in quantity as part of the ice cream concession at the House of David's amusement park.[square]ºThe House of David was ahead of its time as far as the sport of bowling, receiving the country's first patent for automatic pin setters.[square]ºBenjamin and Mary Purnell had two children before converting to their new faith that included celibacy in 1888. Mary Purnell, at 91, outlived her husband and both offspring.